Also see: Van der Graaf Generator
From: "Grant Penton"
<>
>Maybe I sould better continue with my Hammill collection? Yet I have "Fool's
Mate", "The Silent Corner..", "Nadir's Big Chance",
"Over", "Future Now", "Black Box", "Loops &
Reels", "In a foreighn Town", "Roaring Forties", "X my
Heart" & "Everyone You Hold". Some recommendations on further
purchases?
In Camera is my all time favourite- has some great solo synth work, masterful lyrics,
and a good concrete piece at the end for nightmares - Check out Le Orme's Felona &
Sorona for Hammill's lyrics, Fripp's Exposure for 2 great Hammill tunes, and The Fall of
the House of Usher- and find the videos if you can (I've got about 3 hours worth, from
'69-mid 80s).
From: David Kuznick <>
Re: Peter Hammill "This" (1998)
This is a superb album in the typical Hammill style; very sparse at times with great
lyrics and interesting sounds.
From: "drj_saro" <>
Re: Peter Hammill "This" FIE9118
1.frozen in place (fragment); 2.unrehearsed; 3.stupid; 4.since the kids; 5.nightman;
6.fallen (the city of night); 7.unready (fragment); 8.always is next; 9.unsteady
(fragment); 10. the light continent
fragments - under 1 minute each, mostly instrumental, some "wordless" vocals.
light continent - 14 minute non-epic produced by Peter Hammill; words & music by Peter
Hammill; all instruments and voices by Peter Hammill except:; drums & percussion:
Manny Elias [2,3,6,8]; violins & viola: Stuart Gordon [2,5,6,7,8,9,10]; saxophones
& flute: David Jackson [2,3,5,8,10].
i am an unrepentant Hammill-fan, and have been from the instant that i first heard
"Pioneers Over c" in 1972 (even though it took me nearly three more years before
i found out "who am the only one" (hidden VdGG joke #1), but i will readily
admit that his work in the 80s and 90s is to a large extent not as stimulating either
intellectually or emotionally as his work in the 70s (either with Van Der Graaf Generator
or as a "solo" artist.). BUT this is his second solidly good album in a row
(along with the previous year's "Everyone You Hold") following a string of
albums that , imo, were uneven at best.
While not as richly layered and textured as "EYH", "This" is lyrically
superior (and is probably his best album lyrically since the sonically disappointing
"In a Foreign Town" (1981)- damn those drum machines!) (and for those of you who
don't pay attention to lyrics, VdGG/pH probably isn't for you, even though VdGG _is_ quite
strong musically.) 2. is a lyrical cross between "After the Show" and
"Happy Hour", while musically it is a song of two halves - the first half,
mid-tempo without drums with a very lyrical sax line and quite dramatic string parts - the
second half, the drums kick in and the energy level rises with a more intense sax part. 3.
is a warning not to be so afraid of making a mistake that life passes one by, accompanied
by the unmistakable Jaxon-on-sax, a slinky fretless bass-line, and a (not-so-bad, in this
instance) drum machine. (this is almost thumpo) 4. is a song about the changes that having
children makes in one's life, played mainly on piano, with some synth texture in the
background. 5. and 6 are two more chapters in pH's continuing "dream sequence";
5. starts with a _great_ guitar part, accentuated by violin and flute (and in the more
dramatic second half - sax). 6. has multiple layers of keyboards, the occasional guitar
for dramatic effect, more great violin work, and some (surprisingly) subtle
drum/percussion (i am _not_ a fan of Manny Elias, i consider him only a slight improvement
over a drum-machine). 8. is about those most "rock & roll" of subjects -
cars and sex! this is the most raucous cut on the CD, with an insistent bass-line, gritty
sax, an eccentric drum figure (with other incidental percussion), fuzzy guitars, layers of
analog keys. (Gary Davis has a sample of this cut on-line at the Artist Shop). 10. is one
of pH's oddest experiments - lyrically it's a view of Antarctica (as a multi-level
metaphor ) instrumentally this is almost "ambient", it's ALL texture, almost no
recognizable melody, treated guitars, slow sustained synth chords, sax, violin, and viola
all contributing to the eerie layers of sound. i _like_ it!
From: "Salmacis" <>
Subject: Hammill
Julius J. SAROKA wrote: >imo - it
is as dark an album overall as "Over", while being quite different
>in sound.
Agreed. Chameleon is excellent, and whoever it was who asked if he should buy
it, allow me to chime in with a resounding YES! And do so immediately. :o)
While you're at it, track down any of the following: Silent
Corner and the Empty Stage (my favorite and many others' favorite, I'm sure) :
Particularly excellent tracks on this one include 'A Louse is not a home'
(creepy Poe-esque imagery used effectively here - love the line '...sometimes I
get the feeling that there's someone else there...' - wonderful melodies also,
and covers the range of soft singing to the trademark Hammill screaming),
'Modern', 'The Lie', and 'Forsaken Gardens'. Simply an outstanding album, ranks
in my all time top 5 releases.
In Camera : The third of this early/vintage/classic trio of Hammill albums.
Ranks right up there with Chameleon and Silent Corner, the only mar being the
somewhat self-indulgent 'Magog', which to me amounts to nothing more than
assorted noises. However, Gog, which precedes it, is amazing. In fact,
everything else on this album is amazing. Standouts include: Ferret and
Featherbird, Faint Heart and the Sermon, The Comet, the course and the tail, and
(No More) The Sub-mariner. I give this album a painfully low 9.5/10 only because
of 'Magog'.
Over: Some of the most emotionally stirring work Hammill has done. A beautiful
album drenched in sorrow, mainly an album about H's separation from the love of
his life (at that time). Opens with the angry 'Crying Wolf' (which I suspect is
the last track he wrote for the sessions, somehow... hard to pinpoint why). H
also touches upon another type of loss, the emptiness of a house that once
contained a family, but the children have grown up and moved out, in 'Autumn'.
Every track on this album is excellent, I love the whole thing from beginning to
end. 'Time Heals' is absolutely incredible. Check out the 'missing' verse from
'La Rossa' thrown in too! I could write several more long-winded paragraphs
about this album, but rather than boring you any further, I will just say: GET
THIS ALBUM. The only other album by the same artist to rank in my all time top
5.
Hammill has a gigantic catalogue of somewhat varied material, from the 'origins
of Punk' ideals of 'Nadir's Big Chance' (strangely sandwiched in between 'In
Camera' and 'Over', and said to be one of the biggest influences on guys such as
John Lydon, etc.), to 'Love Songs', a collection of some of his... well, love
songs, to his operatic approach to 'Fall of the House of Usher', to the unusual
soundscapes of 'Sonix' (quite excellent, btw...), to his gorgeous 'Fireships'
('Curtains', 'His Best Girl'...) - he almost always amazes. Me, anyway! :o)
Also check out his 'Peel Sessions' - a nice collection of stuff there. And the
VDGG BBC sessions, while we're sort of on the subject, are incredible. The
version of 'When She Comes' is KILLER (no pun intended)...